“By now you’ve heard about the first rules of engagement in baseball’s proposed Money War. The collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the season, and the curtain goes up on the biggest off-field rivalry in the game: Owners vs. Owners.

The players are the scenery, although the Players Association is never easy to persuade. For its part, the hired help has proposed a $1.5 million minimum salary, free agency for five-year players who are 30 or over, and something called a Pre-Arbitration Performance Bonus Program that will enrich over-achieving kids who have played fewer than three years. “

“The 1975 Atlanta Braves had Phil Niekro, Dusty Baker and Tom House.

Darrell Evans was their top home run hitter, with 22. They also went 67-94 and drew 534,672 fans. More than once, the team would trail by eight runs after three innings, and Skip Caray, the play-by-play man, would intone, “Ladies and gentlemen, if you promise to keep patronizing our advertisers, you have my permission to watch something else.”

When the Braves went up for sale, mental health professionals watched closely to see who would be interested. Ted Turner was. It figured. “